Tamashii Kasanete
by SilverCaffiene
Summary: A retake on the events of what happened at the Tao manor, when Yoh and gang try to save Tao Ren. Horo deals with guilt at his own lack of assistance, and Ren faces his guilt for his friends injuries. Focuses on the guilt that these two face. Horo X Ren


Tamashii Kasanete

Summary: A Retake of what happened during episode 22- 24( I think ), when Yoh and gang attempted to bail Ren out of the Tao manor. Horo X Ren Shounen Ai Pairing.

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Ren looked up, the searing ache in his neck worsening as he strained his senses to make out the noises above him. The dark, dingy cell was mainly empty, small yet big. His shirt long discarded, the fresh wounds on his body wildly protested as the muscles tensed in compliance with his neck. The fucking metal dragon he was perched on was _cold_, damnit. He looked at his sister, who was closing her eyes, seemingly trying to conserve energy.

I'm sorry for dragging you into this, Jun.

Biting back a hiss of pain, the almighty Tao Ren begged - _begged_ whatever Gods there were up there to prove his suspicions wrong.

_Please, please please no, Don't let it be them, they'll die, or Gods what have I done, those idiots, please, make them leave, make them leave..._

The empty cell reflected his Chinese mutterings back at him, and it seemed that his voice had lost all hope.

--

Horo Horo gritted his teeth in frustration. Godamn it, the _hell _did Ren have to live in such a freaking huge place? What happened to apartments, for God's sake? The sweat beading on his face and his ragged breathing told the truth about his physical condition – pathetic.

His arm hurt like shit where that zombie nicked it with its sword, and thanks to those five, he was pretty sure at least two of his ribs were cracked. Oh fuck, that hurt. Kororo, too, was feeling the strain, but they had to go on. They _had_ to. If their welcoming party was any indication, Ren was somewhere in this bigass place, having his tiny humanity being beaten out of him. And Hell would start blooming with Coltsfoot before he let go of that tiny spark of life that Ren had started to show lately. Ren was his _friend_, damnit, and he wasn't gonna let him go. Everyone here was fighting for that reason.

Horo Horo tensed, hyped up instinct registering a swing aimed for the back of his head. Fuck, they're fast. He let himself go limp, egging gravity to help him dodge. The blade missed his face by half a centemiter, and had he been any slower in twisting his torso around to deliver a freezing punch to that bastard's face, his nose would have been cleaved off.

Yoh... You'd better be getting Ren's sorry ass out...

--

_An unearthly wail, and a resounding thump jerked both Ren and Jun into alertness. A bellow, and ungainly thumping footsteps, the sound of metal cutting through the air, then another muffled thump._

Tch. Bason, who asked you to stick your nose in?

That being said, Ren let his momentary relief wash over him. Yoh looked unhurt, and calm, as though he'd just had a walk. He wasn't dead.

"I don't know what business you have here, but I'm glad you managed to come this far." _Thank you for not dying..._

"Well, yeah, everyone of my comrades are strong, after all." Came the easygoing reply.

Everyone? Shit. He brought everyone. Not only was he going to be bloody embarrassed to need to be saved... What if they were injured by the Tao's stupid five Deities? If only Yoh came, then the others must be holding someone strong back. And knowing his father...

He held back the wince as his bruised legs hit the ground. Briefly massaging his wrists, he rolled his shoulders around. Good, they can still swing a weapon. Ren pulled his bloodied pants tight, and turned to Yoh.

"If you're done now, hurry up and get lost. I'm going to kill that old man." _Please, you idiot, take a hint and get everyone out of here._

He barely heard Yoh's exasperated reply, but bristled. Next time?

"A carefree bastard like you wouldn't understand." He snapped back, feeling unreasonably irritable and self conscious. Probably because his scars and tattoo were in plain bloody view. He turned to leave, not bothering to look at his sister.

_You too, Jun. Save yourself._ He felt a hollow satisfaction when she made no move to follow him, and ignored Yoh tagging along.

--

He watched Ryu from his peripheral vision, watching him slice his opponent up. Horo had already shattered his Kyonshii's body into a thousand now-melting pieces, and was struggling to catch his breath while keeping an eye on the remaining member of the five deities' army. Stupid bastard was getting on his nerves, standing there and literally looking down at them.

--

"I can't let you die because of my selfishness." He bit out, hating to admit this to Yoh, who had been quiet since he drew his attention to that disgusting emblem on his back. Ren started, feeling Yoh's warm arm sling on his shoulder.

"It'll be fine." Ren was shocked. How could anyone come up with such a harebrained motto? Yoh, shut up and leave, for god's sake. Ren sighed, as he gave up and let Yoh coax him into allowing him to tag along.

"What a fanciful bastard." He muttered, and continued down the dingy passageway. _Hmph, friends, huh? I have a feeling they're going to give me a lot of stress._

Crash.

Oh shit. Jun.

Forcing his protesting muscles into swift movements, he rushed back to his sister.

"I should've known." He spat. Wouldn't put it past my father to do this, he thought, as he readied himself to dodge the now transformed Pai Long's attacks.

Oversoul. That was it! HE conveyed his idea to Yoh, and they both jumped simultaneously, arms giving of copious amounts of glowing furyoku as they made contact with the oriental beast that was Pai Long. The resounding burst of pure light as Tao En's oversoul on Pai Long was released swept through the cell and disappeared in a satisfying manner, leaving Pai Long's body on the ground, nearly next to Jun, who looked at her brother in gratitude, but did not say anything. Ren turned to leave, before his embarrassment betrayed him.

"Ryu and Horo are waiting just beyond here."

Ren smiled at the confidence in Yoh's voice, and quickened his pace. He wanted to get this bloody thing over and done with. When i'm through all of this, I'm going to indulge myself and attack that idiot horo horo. It should be fun.

He pushed open the door, only to have his pleasant thoughts ripped out of his mind and thrown unceremoniously out the window. The last of the Kyonshii that Ryu and Horo were up against had defeated them. Ren's eyes made out the crumpled form of Horo Horo, held by the neck and unconscious. He as badly beaten up, and Ren's eyes were transfixed on the visible wounds on his friend's body. The swollen eye, split lip, and shit holy fuck was that blood pooling around him?

The Kyonshii raised his head to look at him, and he felt fury rise in the pit of his stomach. Stupid bastard, I'll split you into fifteen hundred pieces and feed you to Jun's tiger. He readied himself for Hyoi Gattai, and tensed, anticipating the moment he beat this asshole's head into the finely polished Tao manor ground.

That is, until said asshole decided to imitate and aeroplane and attempt to dive kick him to India. He dodged, swiftly, noting the force behing that kick irritably. Horo, you let yourself get hit by this guy, God damn it if you're dead I will kill you. Horo...

" Do you know why us five deities are so feared?" Tao Ren narrowed his eyes in annoyance. Like I care, freaking monolouger. And promptly charged oversoul in full blast. The Kyonshii retaliated in a swift spin, the force of his movement knocked both him and Yoh back, where they landed on the finely polished Tao manor floor.

Shit, this guy was fast.

"Yoh!" Manta's shrill cry made him snap his head in the Kyonshii's direction, as his body tried to pull itself back together from the fall.

Bastard, don't you dare call my friends insects.

He ran forward to catch Yoh, only to see a blinding flash of blue and purple beat him to it. He smirked, tension leaving his body rapidly, yeah, they were insects. Bloody hardy cockroaches, in fact.

He stood, smiling a little as he heard their outraged complaints at his comment. Horo, I thought you were dead. Ryu was still breathing, but—

Horo grinned at Ren's smile. He was smiling; the bastard was actually capable of smiling! He helped Yoh up, and nodded at Ren, noting his approval at his consciousness. As he did so, he let his eyes travel down, noting the bruises and cuts on the shorter boy's torso. He looks like shit, but he's okay. And that spark wasn't gone.

Abandoning he futile effort to get Yoh's ass standing, Horo turned his attention to the now speaking kyonshii, who had shifted into yet another battle stance. Horo horo grinned in anticipation. Seeing Ren back and snapping at them gave him alot of extra energy and enthusiasm, and his oversoul would prove it. Sides, now that ren and yoh were here, they could beat this old man's sorry butt.

Ow. His face hurt from the grinning. Stupid Kyonshii, punching him in the face.  
He jumped. Everyone did, actually, morale high and raring to battle, they attacked, only to have their best attacks rendered useless by smooth movements and dodging on the opponent's part. The dodges were not just to evade their attacks, either. He drew them in with his movements, effectively cutting down the size of used battlefield. Horo hastily shifted his weight to avoid smashing into Ren or Yoh, and tried again. Everyone's attacks were getting weaker and more predictable. Ren, he noticed, was getting more frustrated, and Ryu's shouts were getting increasingly desperate. And Yoh was about to be pulverised.

Shamon gripped the boy by the neck, and pulled his free arm back, readying a blow that would crush the boy's skull-

But did not make it in time.

Ren stared in transfixed horror at his sister, who was standing at the doorway, lending her power to Pai Long, and honestly, she needed more decent clothing and—

Alright, back to battle.

The four of them watched the ensuing performance in awe, as the Kyonshii was beaten into shame by Jun and Pai Long. Yes, my sister... is scary.

"A man has no right to live without feelings. It is not right for a body to live without a soul." Jun stated coldly, and true to those statements, the shamon replica quickly disintegrated, leaving all four stunned, and a very bemused Ren. His sister... looked livid. And ready to kill. Ren managed to smile through his bewilderment, watching Horo's mouth twitch while agape was amusing, to say the least. Also, the newfound respect for his sister was genuine. He knew she was powerful, but to see her attack under her own conditions and her own power was a different matter entirely.

Ren shook the errant thoughts out of his head, and made to leave. His business here was done.

"I no longer have business with you all. Leave." (Please, just go, and save yourselves. You are strong, but my father will only tolerate so much insolence.)

His gaze lingered on a very indignant Horo, who took it to mean a challenge, and promptly started complaining.

"Damnit, don't cross the line, Ren. We came all this way to help you_!" I am not letting you go face your creepy dad alone, you idiot._

He heard Ryu speak behind him. "I have to meet your father, now. It's called being gentlemanly," Though his tone was in no way polite. The challenging note in his voice caused Ren to bristle.

" That kind of joke won't work here!" HE shouted, causing Horo to start. Since when did Ren sound to desperate?

"This is my fight; it has nothing to do with you." Ren turned, and Horo caught full sight of a huge black tattoo spanning across both shoulders and the full length of the spine. The whip lash marks didn't go unnoticed, either.

Ren, what did they do to you?

"Ah," He drawled a mock air of resignation hanging about him. "Do what you want."

Ren smirked, satisfied that they got the picture, and turned to leave. (Thank whatever gods gave Horo the insight to back off.)

"In return, I'll do whatever I want as well."

...

...Shit those gods.

But the tone was light, almost apologetic, as though the blue haired boy had genuinely wanted to respect his wishes. Huh. He grew in annoyance as each one of these idiots dedicated themselves to annoying him.

Horo put his snowboard in front of him, grinning, as he watched Ren's livid expression. He wasn't backing down now. "We're friends, right? We'll just watch if you don't want us to interfere. But I'm not going anywhere."

He wasn't. Especially not after the sight of those scars. He wasn't letting Ren – Ren who looked so bloody weak and vulnerable- go in and face something like that alone.

"Go home!" He shouted, more desperately than before. "Please. I don't want to see you all get killed." _Please. Just go and be safe. Go and get your ribs treated, your bones reset, go and be far away from this place!_

"... Ren." Horo was uncertain. Damn it, Ren, why do you have to be so fucking stubborn about these things? We're here for you, you idiot! (I'm here for you.)

"Shut up and go home! Before –"

...shit.

The huge doors creaked open, and the huge army of Kyonshii emerged, a death knell to his ears and friends. Now... they won't be able to run..

Ren smirked as everybody annihilated a fifth of the army, which... had more numbers. And so, with that annoying turn of events, everyone went in the same direction: Towards his father,.

They stared up at the huge door that came between their party and Ren;s infamous back. Horro stared at the flexing of wounded flesh, as ren made to push open that door. The look on ren's face, the sheer reckless abandon and frenzied anticipation sent a chill down horo's spine. Good luck, ren.

--

"GOLDEN CHUUKA ZANMAI!!!!!" he lunged forward, feeling a satisfying thud of connection from the handle of his kwan do. That is, until his father disappeared, and squashed him into near suffocation. He choked, and was flung full force into a wall. Ren coughed weakly, crumpling to a heap on the floor, as blood welled up in his throat, dribbling out of his mouth.

"R-Run..." HE wheezed out.

Horo was numb. He was numb ever since Ren got himself picked up and flung around like a doll. He was numb ever since he looked at Ren's face, and saw the spark o liveliness and humanity go out. And he was angry. Angry at this moustached guy beating the life out of his own freaking son. He was angry because he couldn't do anything to protect the fragile friend that they had.

So, it was with this numbness and anger that made him completely ignore Ren's achingly pleading tone to attempt to oversoul the living daylights out of the huge monster. Only to get smashed into the ground.

"H-Horo- Y-yo..." Fuck, he couldn't breathe. Horo horo, get the hell out of here! IS he okay?

"Arhg!" Yoh's voice. Yoh going to get crushed under his father's hand.

"STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He screamed, body and furyoku moving too fast thanks to adrenaline. Stabbing into his father's back. His father obviously took no damage, but had at least stopped the assault. Ren landed, and stumbled, onto the floor, breathing harshly, and coughing up bit of blood that had accumulated in his throat.

--

"Repay? Since when do you try to repay anything?" Horo grinned through the bruising on his face.

He saw ren twitch, then smile back. Wait, smirk. As the rest of their fallen comarades made to stand, Horo grinned even more, especially when Ren gave him a smirk, and a look of approval mixed with gratitiude. Horo walked till he was beside the Tao, shifting hisstance so that he looke d almost protective of the unmoving boy, as they answered the now confused Tao En,

"We're friends, and he means something to us." He piped up, smiling at the shocked expression on Ren's face. He countered with a what?-it's-true look, earning an exasperated smile. Aw, Ren could be so shy.

--

"Then I'll prove it to you!" Ren smirked, confident in his ability to bring his father down. He surged forward in a blur of movement and gold light, cutting across the floor with renewed speed, and lightly burst into the air with explosive speed, seemingly weightless.

A flash, then darkness. He crumpled to the floor in a exhausted heap, briefly noting that horo horo looked downright ridiculous when he looked so worried.

--

"You guys can go on back first, Yoh. I'll stay with him. We'll meet you in Japan. Anna's probably going to skewer you if you don't make it back quickly."

"Hmm. I guess you're right. Well, see ya!"

"Yeah."

The snap of a door, ten silence.

Ren had been unconscious for a while. The adrenaline that led him to defeat his father had worn off, and blood loss and broken ribs had finally gotten to him. Horo stayed with him, because he didn't want Ren to be alone when he woke up. Or rather, he didn't want to go to Japan without him.

... Not without saying anything to the pale boy whose fever hadn't broken.

Horo horo felt out of place here. The luxurious enamel vases and lacquered surfaces, silk fabrics and embroidered materials... This is where Ren grew up? Tch, typical. No wonder he's so attitude- ish. He's practically a prince!

.. A very vulnerable prince who had no friends, no childhood, and an oversoul for a father.

Horo shifted in his spot by Ren's bed(which was huge). Jun had recently come by to check on Ren and thank Horo for keeping a vigil beside her brother. The blue haired teen sighed, and reached forward to grab the silk padded cloth folded on Ren's forehead. Dipping it into the bucket of cold water (which he kept cold by furyoku, because getting ice from the kitchen meant a HIKE)., and ligtly wrung the cloth, then putting it onto Ren's feverish forehead.

"Ren... Wake up, man. Don't go all coma-ey on me," No response. "Geez, I thought you were gonna die then. Freaked me out like hell, you know. Asshole. You're not supposed to make people's hearts stop even when unconscious, you know."

A voice. Talking to him in a light baritone, a young, soft voice muttering to him. "Ren, what am I gonna do with you..."

He fluttered his eyelids. Ow, fuck, the sun hurt.  
"Yo, dude, you woke up!" Horo did a little jig in the back of his mind, and rushed to draw the curtains, the obvious source of Ren's discomfort.

"...Why didn't you ever tell us?"

"Hm? Tell you what?" They had been sitting in companionable silence for a while since he's regained his senses, Ren studying the blue haired teen in interest, as Horo Horo was wearing one of his robes, his clothes having been soiled with blood.

"That your family was- Ah never mind."

"Mm," He answered. He was more than happy to leave it at that. Ren continued surveying the Ainu, who was currently staring off into the distance. The dip of slightly tanned skin over a collarbone was visible, along with a little bit of white fabric stretched over the Ainu's chest.

"How many?" The question was asked with so much vehemence that the Ainu boy looked at Ren in confusion.

"Gna?" was the articulate answer.

Ren rolled his eyes. "How many broken ribs do you have?" Horo flinched. Sheesh, this guy was uptight.

"..Two." He mumbled.

A sigh form the teen on the bed. "Hey, Horo, could you sit on the bed? It's annoying trying to talk to you."

Sigh. That's why normal people don't sleep in king sized beds, Ren. Horo grinned, and crawled onto the enormous bed, plopping himself next to Ren. Ren shifted, welcoming the extra warmth that Horo brought. If anyone asked about this, Ren would've claimed that he was under the influence of the fever.

"Ne, ren."

"Mn..?"

"Why did you want ask to leave you alone?"

"I would've thought that was obvious. Didn't want you all to die."

"So that meant you wanted to die alone without your friends?" The Ainu pressed, now that Ren was awake, he could bombard him with questions.

"..." Ren shifted, uncomfortable at the question, and at the Ainu who was directly intruding his line of sight, not allowing him to look away.

"Ren." The hesitancy and tenderness which that word was conveyed shocked him. No one, not even Jun, had addressed him as such; like he was going to break at any moment. Suddenly aware that the Ainu teen had leant in closer in an attempt to look him in the eye, Ren tried his utmost earnest best to scoot away, only to be blocked by a large chunk of finely polished hardwood that was his headboard. Ow.

Horo Horo chuckled, his concerned expression breaking out of the tension. The great Tao Ren, hitting his head on his own bed! Life was good, he decided. Of course, said chuckling ceased at the glare (and pout) that Ren shot him.

The taller teen sighed. "All right, I'll let you be an emo kid, as long as you let me take your temperature, okay?" His voice was teasing, as he tried to lighten the mood. (Geez, Ren was so tense.)

"W-What? There's n o need for you to take my temperature. I'm fine."

"Hm. Sure. Open up." Horo grinned, noting the flush of embarrassment dusting Ren's pale cheeks at the mention of having his temperature taken. Sigh, boys nowadays.

When Ren absolutely refused to open his mouth, Horo's smile widened, a bit too sinisterly to be trusted. "Ren, you have to choose. Your mouth, under an arm, or up you a-"

The sentence wasn't finished, but Ren had practically bitten the thermometer out of the Ainu's hands. The Chinese boy scowled, and proceeded to stare vehemently at the thermometer sticking out of his mouth. Meanwhile, Horo Horo stood up, and started to cool the bucket of water again. At Ren's raised eyebrow, he shrugged. "Hey, your kitchen is seven storeys away. Whatcha expect?"

Ren smirked, and shifted his attention back to melting the thermometer, while Horo leant over him to feel his forehead. Ren stiffened, as was the norm when surprisingly warm hands descended upon him in an invasion of personal space.

"Hmm, your fever's broken, but still. You look like shit. Can you eat?" Horo asked, and Ren was uncomfortably aware of the sight of bare neckline presented to him as Horo plucked the thermometer out of his mouth and checked his temperature, without moving an inch form his position of bending over Ren. Not to mention the arm that was propping Horo up was across him, such that the smaller teen was trapped. "Sorry." He mumbled, noticing once again the bandages that stretched across his friend's torso.

"Hm? Sorry for? Making me wait over you like a nurse? No problem, I've got tons of blackmail material now." Came the light hearted reply.

"Argh, not that, you fool. Sorry. For dragging you into this. For making you risk your life." Sigh, How articulate, Ren. You genius. The inner voice continued to berate him as he fiddled with the hem of his too long sleeve, not wanting to hear the reply.

"Idiot. I risked my life everyday knowing you, considering the multiple times you try to castrate me with your flashy golden weapons." An idiotic grin plastered on his face, Horo brushed off the Ren's apology. He made to move to fetch Ren's cooling ginger porridge, but was jerked back by the force of Ren's hand snapping up to grab at his wrist.

Which caused him to land in a rather ungraceful heap on top of the Chinese boy. Said Chinese was for once not focusing on the subsequent proximity of his actions, but was staring earnestly into Horo's black eyes.

"I mean it. I'm sorry."

Horo was kinda shocked at the bluntness of the statement, considering that Ren NEVER apologised, this was a bit of a shock. Also, taking into account that he was practically on top of the boy didn't help much. Horo stared back into Ren's yellow golden eyes, and seeing the hesitancy, Horo decided to opt for a more sincere track of replying his apology.

"Alright, Ren, it's okay. I-I'm sorry too; for not helping sooner." It was an honest to god reply, Ren couldn't object.

And Object he did.

"That's not the point, idiot! Are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Ren spat back furiously. "Oh my god, do you people even listen? I tell you guys to leave and you apologise for coming late? What the fuck are y— Mmdrphth!!!"

The tirade, however, was abruptly cut off by Horo's hand clamping itself over Ren's mouth. "Shut up, Ren, I'm fine with this. I've always been fine with it, or haven't you noticed?"

Horo's voice had dropped to a murmur, as he leant in, bringing himself closer to the Chinese boy. Ren's eyes widened, as if in fear of the Ainu's proximity. The hand atop Ren's mouth had lifted, and moved to brace the Ainu on the Bed. Ren, however shocked, did not loosen his vice like grip on Horo horo's wrist, which had begun to go numb.

"Ne, Ren." He lowered his voice, and paused. Ren was flushing a brilliant pink, completely stunned. The back hair on the back of the Chinese's neck had begun to stand up, and he held back an involuntary shudder. Horo was close, far to close, for his fevered mind to actually think of a reply to the low murmur and hot breath that brushed his cheek when the Ainu spoke.

What in the holy name of Kororo did he think he was doing? The cogs in Horo's mind were not, ABSOLUTELY NOT, working. The only processed thought was that Ren had a really soft bed, and that Ren was under him, mouth slightly parted in shock.

He was on top of Tao Ren, and he wasn't having his sorry ass skewered on a long metal rod. He was on top of Ren. And he was kind of enjoying it. He was on top of Tao Ren, for god's sake!

... And I think... I'm gay.

Holy shit.

Ren was gaping at him like a hapless little doll, and Horo tried to back off. Yes, he earnestly tried! And did not succeed. The force that compelled him to lean into Ren was huge, palpable and clogging the air around him, forcing his actions. The seemingly magnetic force that the Chinese boy had over him did not help, either. He hesitated, lightly running his own tongue over his chapped lips (china mountain air was _dry_, damnit.) And _moved._

Ren was, by no means a lucky person. He admitted this as he watched the Tao guard dogs ripped his panda teddy bear into fluffy pieces. He knew this the day he was tattooed in the name of dark justice. He knew this the day he faced Asakura Yoh and lost. He knew it every time his sister "persuaded" him to go on and errand in her name.

But he had no idea beyond all the bamboo in China how he had gotten himself into this situation. He had thought that he was fairly lucky now, with idiotic friends to bail him out of whatever unlucky situation he'd gotten himself in. He'd thought he was exceedingly lucky to have a friend like Horo, who'd stood by his bed and kept a vigil, while waiting for his fever to break, for him to regain consciousness. But all those beliefs were instantaneously shattered as he watched the pink sliver of muscle slide over his friend's lips, and he swallowed the dry lump in his throat in anticipation. How the hell did an apology lead to this? He wasn't – no, he was NOT. Friendship. It was a hyped up sense of camaraderie that made him so heart-stoppingly scared at the sight of Horo's bloodied body laying on the floor. It was fear for the safety of a _friend_, which almost made him scream and beg his father, when he heard Horo's voice break in a harsh cry of pain and defeat. It was friendship, damnit, and it had absolutely NOTHING to do with the fact that Horo's lips were moving up against his, slightly shifting and not daring to press against his with force. It had nothing to do with the fact that Horo's warm hand was shifting to rest upon the crook in between his neck and his shoulder, pulling the two boys tentatively closer.

So when Horo finally took it that the shell shocked Tao Ren had no objections and had parted his mouth slightly more open and did not scream bloody murder, he simply pressed his dry lips upon the Chinese, hoping to god that he'd live through to the next day.

So when Ren was about to stutter an attempt of rejecting the very warm shaman against him, he was completely flabbergasted when said shaman proved that his lips were equally, if not more warm than his hands.

It was a chaste kiss, and had yet to escalate into anything unbecoming of propriety. And Horo Horo was still alive. And Tao Ren was still shocked. Horo, inwardly sighing at the Chinese's goldfishness, parted his mouth ever so slightly, and pressed his tongue against Ren' soft lips, which instantaneously parted, as though it was an involuntary reaction.

Oh well. It was a suitable reaction, at any rate.

He leant forward, pulling Ren closer via the hand on his slim neck. Deepening the kiss, he decided to just go at it, until he managed to elicit a response from the rock he was currently kissing. Damnit, was this guy having a stroke or something?

Ren noticed the shift of pace, and decided that he was not going to act like a deer caught in headlights. A Tao was not a deer! With that, he tentatively mimicked the movements Horo horo was currently employing, shy at first, until sudden warmth erupted from the base of his chest and made itself known. Regretting his damnable luck, Tao Ren shifted, back arching slightly and shoulders tensing as he responded to the blue-haired teen's efforts. The warmth, if anything, was seeping into his body, passing easily through thin silk robes and clinging on to his skin. Closing his eyes, the Chinese boy let instinct take over as he fell into a steady rhythm of action and reaction.

Of course, the abandoned oxygen made its annoyance known.

Supressing a moan as they broke apart, Horo Horo grinned down at his Chinese friend, who was practically below him because of their previous actions. The slightly erotic sight of Tao Ren panting slightly and flushed with his silk robe parted indecently was a bit too much, and he, too, flushed.

"As I said, we're even." He grinned widely, as he noted that that glint of emotion in Ren's eyes made no move to leave. Bending down to deliver an innocent kiss on the smaller boy's flushed cheek, Horo made to grab the porridge, this time not getting held back by any pretty Chinese boys.

"Here, I'll even feed you." He teased, watching in amusement as Tao Ren made no move to protest, probably because their fevered actions had caused his already challenged lungs to protest.

Moving forward to prop the panting boy up into a sitting position, He scooped up a bit of porridge, inwardly hoping that he hadn;t killed Tao Ren because of a kiss. When Ren had regained his breath, he smiled, and proceeded to feed the boy.

"You know, if it means I get to do whatever I want to you, I should get you sick often." He offered jokingly, catching the pillow that was aimed for his face. Tossing the fluffy mass aside, he continued his task of nursing the Tao, amused at the seemingly permanent blush on the boys face.

The epiphany finally came.

"W-Wait. Was that.. your first kiss?" He asked, mouth agape when the Chinese boy made no motion to disagree, but glared at him, as though daring him to tease.

--

Ren was actually mortified at his own actions. But, he decided, it was fine, if Horo.. was serious. He shook his head, and continued glaring at the Ainu. He's.. not like my father. Judging from the tenderness of his actions, Horo Horo was nothing like his father.

He was a friend.

... And maybe, he could be more.

SilverCaffiene: Aww... Well yeah, This is the RenxHoro porcupine that lodged itself in my brain, and demanded that I write it out. Sigh. Hope it was good, I know it isn't as good as the rest out there, but it is an earnest effort, and I'd love to know what you guys think. Comments, critique, especially, would be very, VERY welcome.

Cheers,

Silver.


End file.
